We all know the type: He’s the one at the cocktail party or networking breakfast you can’t escape fast enough.

Why?

Because he’s going on and on about nothing that you care about.

Recently, a friend introduced me to a web developer, usually one of my favorite new contact categories. He heard what we do at Market It Write – and proceeded to educate me on search engine optimization.

I (politely) interrupted him and told him that, yes, I understood what he was saying. We partner with many web development firms to create sites that combine relevant content with social media tools to achieve high organic search engine rankings.

Next, he tried to explain how descriptive file names and page titles can also boost your site rankings.

Before he got too far into his lecture, I spilled my drink and dashed to the ladies room.

Not really. I was, however, sorely tempted.

Where did he go wrong?

To start, this prospective partner didn’t consider his audience before launching into his pitch. He has identified what sets him apart from other web designers and relentlessly steers networking conversations in his direction.

• He did not acknowledge the fact that I was educated in his area of expertise – essentially insulting my intelligence. (Hint: Not a good way to impress a prospective client.)
• He did not consider my needs and how his services could help fulfill those needs.
• In fact, he didn’t bother finding out much about me before starting his spiel.

This example sounds pretty silly and obvious, but many websites commit the same sins.

• Focus on the business or organization
• A generic message intended for all visitors
• Lackluster organization and content, showing little regard for audience needs

The fix?

If you’re still operating a simple brochure site that lists name, rank and serial number (About Us, Products/Services, Contact Us), you probably need to start from scratch. Largely because the technology has evolved so quickly that sophisticated web solutions are available for all budgets.

To avoid making the same mistakes, ask yourself the following questions:

• Who are my target audiences?
• Why are they coming to my site?
• How can I make their lives better?

Answer these questions, and watch your online marketing ROI increase. If you need some help, we’re only a phone call or email away.

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? How did you respond? (For the truly brave, have you ever found yourself on the wrong end of this situation? How did you recover?)

The Myers-Briggs Temperament Test is an increasingly popular way to identify what makes a person tick. The Myers-Briggs Test, originally developed in the 1950s, is now used worldwide to identify patterns of behavior and attitude. The expansion of the test’s popularity has been spurred in large part by Dr. David Keirsey, who refined and expanded the Myers-Briggs types in his books, Please Understand Me and Please Understand Me II.

Human temperament theory states the following: all individuals can be categorized as one of four basic personality types. These personality types can each be broken down into four sub-types based on introversion/extroversion and the person’s preferred role as leader/follower, but those sub-types are irrelevant to the core values of the main types. Each holds a specific core value–the thing that drives people of that type.

Artisan (Sensing Perceiving – SP). There are many Artisans, perhaps 35-40% of the population. Artisans want to be excited, stimulated, to make an impact on the world.  They trust their impulses and aspire to virtuosity in their chosen field.

Guardian (Sensing Judging – SJ). Guardians are the most common, making up roughly 40-45% of the population. They are concerned about their lives, families, communities, responsibilities. They trust authority and seek security and belonging.

Idealist (Intuitive Feeling – NF). Idealists are rare, making up no more than 8-10% of the population. They are enthusiastic and romantic, seeking self-discovery and recognition of their efforts. They help others, and in so doing walk the path to enlightenment.

Rational (Intuitive Thinking – NT). Rationals are even more scarce, comprising as little as 5-7% of the population. They are calm, collected, trusting their reason and intellectual capacity. They live their lives in search of knowledge, fascinated by the systems that drive the universe.

With this basic knowledge, a good copywriter can craft a message to appeal to  all these types, or even more specifically to those types most likely to be interested in the message. One can develop marketing messages to maximize impact on certain personality types, or include hooks to appeal broadly to all four. Most of the hooks that will work on a Guardian will not likely work on an Idealist, because each type is driven by different internal forces.

One general difference between the types is that Artisans and Guardians operate most comfortably, and respond most favorably, to concrete things, such as tools, results, real-world things. Idealists and Rationals, on the other hand, are more likely to respond to abstract things, such as holistic concepts or systems.

Your job as a marketer is to craft a compelling message, and human temperament theory can be an absolutely priceless tool in your inventory.

How do you visualize your target audience when crafting copy? Are you a Myers-Briggs fan? Do you use a different approach? Please share what works for you.

Source: Keirsey, David. Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence. Del Mar: Prometheus Nemesis. 1998.

Does anyone write letters anymore? We have e-mail, text messaging, social media web sites, and the soul of communicational brevity, Twitter. With all these other forms of communication, do we still need to know how to write a good letter? Whether you’re seeking employment, trying to sell widgets, or contacting business associates, now, more than ever, a good letter can raise you above the crowd. The quickest way to disqualify yourself from consideration from a world of business opportunities is to not know how to write an effective letter.

1. In business or marketing communications, the cardinal commandment is this: Know Thy Audience. Don’t even start writing without a firm vision of whom you’re writing to. As a general rule, it’s nearly always more effective to be more formal, at least until a clear personal relationship is established. “Dear Mr. Jones:” versus “Hey Jim,” or even “What’s up J-Dawg?” Courtesy toward an employment superior or a potential sales prospect still goes a long way. Tailor the voice of your communication to your audience, and remember that your letter represents you. What kind of impression would you like to convey?
2. Margins, line spacing, position of the date, address blocks, salutation lines, all have long-established parameters for what is acceptable. Reference books abound, describing the intricacies of letters. Nowadays, software generally takes care of those things with templates, but some formats are more formal or traditional than others. A standard business letter most often uses block format, where all paragraphs, salutations, date, and address blocks are left-justified with a double space between each element and no indentation.
3. For print letters, use a serif font (fonts with the little curly-cues, called serifs on the letters), such as Times New Roman, Garamond, or Courier. As a general rule, do not use sans serif fonts (fonts without serifs) like Arial, Trebuchet, or Calibri for print letters. Sans serif fonts are generally viewed as too informal and are more tiring to read. For easy reading, your audience will also thank you if you use 12 pt.
4. When in doubt, check the reference books. If you don’t have one handy, the Purdue Online Writing Lab (Purdue OWL, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/) is a fantastic web resource for all kinds of writing questions, including letter writing formats.

Does all this seem pretty basic? That’s because it is. But managers, professionals, and business people everywhere can tell you stories about how so many people don’t know these bare basics. Do you?

My husband and I are vacationing in Charleston, S.C., next month. We’re renting a charming house across the street from Folly Beach, which looks perfect: a good-sized kitchen for culinary experiments, easy access to the beach, close proximity to historic downtown Charleston.

Yesterday the homeowner emailed instructions on picking up the key. I perked up when the message came through my iPhone, reminding me of the upcoming break. And that cheery feeling fizzled as soon as I read the attached document.

Chilly Reception

The one-page sheet does, indeed, offer instructions on checking in. But only after itemizing the rules for checking out. In fact, the first line reads:

“To prevent additional cleaning charges, we ask that you please attend to the following basic items.”

What follows is a list of nine rules that must be obeyed to ensure a full refund of the security deposit (half of the weekly rental fee). Then, the sheet informs me that check-out time is 10:00 a.m. and thanks me for cooperating.

Brrr… I haven’t even picked up the keys, and the owners want to make sure I know how to let myself out.

By the Way…

Only after finishing the “business part” of the message does my future host let me know that they’re looking forward to our stay, having done their best to prepare for our comfort and convenience. (Except for the fact that we have to travel with our own sheets, towels and toilet paper. This notable exception is reinforced in the post script.) We have contact numbers for general and mechanical problems, followed by “HAVE A GREAT TIME!”

And now we get details on actually picking up the keys – after I’ve gotten the clear message that this is a business transaction, period.

So What?

We didn’t rent this house hoping to make a new friend, and I’m sure we’ll have a fantastic time. But the homeowner has done nothing to win my loyalty. If we decide to return, or if friends ask us for a recommendation, we’ll probably consider this property – but we’ll definitely consider other options. Especially if they offer:

• A lower price
• Greater value
• A better experience

In this case, the homeowner could have done a number of things to improve the guest experience:

• Use a warm, friendly tone. Dry and boring might be fine for an accountant, but a dose of personality is almost always a good thing. (It doesn’t even have to be a pleasant personality. Have you ever been to Katz’s Deli on the Lower East Side?)
• Start with the positive. We’re planning a trip to the beach; presumably we’re looking for a fun vacation. Play to that feeling of anticipation.
• Do a little more. Small gestures are appreciated. Many rentals in this area don’t include linens and paper products; doing so, even with a price increase, would set the property apart and make life more convenient for renters. Recommending local activities or restaurants would also be a nice touch.

The same principles apply to any business transaction, including print and electronic communications. If you don’t create an extraordinary service experience at every step, you won’t engage clients and earn fans. Instead, you’ll create an opportunity for the competition.

Do your corporate communications invite people to check out or to check in? How could you reorganize or recast the information to turn your audience into stark-raving fans?

Gender differences abound. Obvious, right? Feminism and equality aside, failing to recognize that women write and respond to writing differently than men is a recipe for ineffective communication. Nevertheless, it is important to recognize that the following differences are generalities; women are no more alike among themselves as men are.
Difference #1 – Trust. Women are more trusting of authority than men, generally speaking. According to Dr. Frank Luntz, an influential pollster, author, and speaker, “Women typically put more faith in government than men.”

Difference #2 – Language. Linguistic studies show that women write softer, more polite language and respond more favorably to it. Short, direct, in-your-face text is designed to appeal to men, and is more likely to turn women off.

Difference #3 – Lifestyle. Family status and employment status are the single most important factors to consider when writing something that appeals to women. The questions for marketers to ask: 1) Does our female audience have children at home? 2) Do they work full-time?

Stay-at-home moms are much more likely to respond similarly to each other, than to working career women, regardless of age.

“Men are exactly the opposite,” writes Dr. Luntz. “Family status and career barely matter, while age, income, and education matter considerably.” Furthermore, men have a narrower range of opinions than women. Luntz goes on to say that a “thirty-year-old man is far more likely to share attitudes and opinions with a fifty-year-old man than are women with the same age spread.”

Difference #4 – Decision Making. Look back again at employment and family status. Men make a majority of decisions for themselves. On the other hand, women typically make financial or consumer decisions not only for herself, but also for her significant other, for her children, and sometimes even for her parents. This boils down to the fact that women are making major pocketbook decisions, from home buying to grocery shopping, and marketers would do well to keep this in mind. Women have more control over family finances than ever before.

Source: Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear by Dr. Frank Luntz, Hyperion, 2007.

Whether your line of work is business or politics, it pays to know your audience. The world is full of businesses that failed because they did not know their audience. If you don’t, your message, however finely crafted it might be, will be ineffective because it did not appeal. Here are a few facts to dispel some myths about general audience.
Myth #1 – Americans are highly educated

Wrong. According to the U.S. Census in 2008, only 29% of adults over the age of 25 have any college education. Furthermore, almost of 15% of the adult population has not graduated from high school.

Therefore, if you’re writing for a general consumer audience, how do you think these facts should affect your approach? Short sentences and easy words. Simplicity is the key.

Myth #2 – Americans prefer big organizations

The truth is, in America, Big Anything becomes a target for distrust. Individuals feel insignificant in the face of mega-banks and conglomerates. American distrust of large organizations runs deep throughout its history. Public outcry against such large-organization fiascos as Enron, Worldcom, and Fannie Mae are vociferous and visceral.

The key for marketers in such large organizations, therefore, is to overcome this distrust through language, such as United Airlines’ “Fly the Friendly Skies.” Make the audience believe that the organization is on their side.

Myth #3 – Retro sells

Companies that have been around for a long time often bring out the old stuff, commercials and taglines from decades past. The feelings of nostalgia evoked in their audience might be pleasant, and retro styling sometimes attracts attention, but people don’t want products from forty years ago. They want 21^st century products and 21^st century ideas. American audiences look forward, not back.

This does not mean to say that old products and ideas are bad; however, never present them as old products and ideas. Renew them, revitalize them, and present them as fresh.

Source: Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear by Dr. Frank Luntz, Hyperion, 2007.

U.S. Census Bureau – www.census.gov